Damaged
by Miri
Summary: Last chance to make amends.
1. Default Chapter Title

**Prologue**  
  
  
Footsteps echoed loudly as she ran through the deserted hallway. At first, she'd tried to be silent. She had crept along the dark hall slowly and silently, but she could hear him catching up to her. She had to get away.   
  
_ Ms. Daaaaaaaavissss. _  
  
She stopped. He was near.  
  
His voice carried across the space between them. He called out to her, not knowing her exact location, hoping to catch her in his twisted game of Marco-Polo. She remembered playing that game as a child, in the big pool her family had then. Her older brother would catch her each time.   
  
She could see a dim light through the corner of her eye. Hope fluttered in her stomach like butterflies. Could Steven be here still? She couldn't decide whether to chance sprinting to the office, or to slowly move towards it. She opted for the latter, knowing her injured knee wouldn't hold up for too long. For all his now apparent psychosis, he was smart. He'd put her out of serious physical commission early on. She was in pain.  
  
It felt like an eternity before she reached Steven's office, but perhaps two minutes had passed. She stumbled the last few steps into the well-lit room.   
  
The tiny droplets of blood on the floor weren't hers. Steven lay face down on the floor behind his chair.   
  
She let out a desperate sob.   
  
"I hear you."  
  
His voice had a child's glee in it.   
  
Oh, god. She closed her eyes, willing him to go away. She wanted to make it so that he couldn't find her if she couldn't see him. With a touch of irony, she remembered telling her students time and time again, that just because they couldn't see her, didn't mean she didn't notice them whispering during her lecture.  
  
She could not let him catch her. She'd kill herself before she'd let him get her. She'd have to, for he wouldn't kill her. He'd keep her alive for a while. And that was what scared her most. She turned to leave the office, devising a plan in her head to get to the front doors.  
  
In an instant, she could feel warm breath on her neck. His hand encircled her neck. The world went black.  
  
**Two Days Earlier.**  
  
"For homework tonight, I'd like you all to write a short essay about the Revolutionary War. It can be any battle, or any political issue. Whatever you like. No more then three pages. You're dismissed."  
  
Lauren's classroom emptied out quickly, as the first period bell rang loudly. She picked up her grade book, and headed for the lounge.   
  
Harry fixed her with a suspicious look the second she walked into the teacher's lounge.   
  
"Something the matter, Harry?"  
  
His accusing face unsettled her. All she'd wanted was to see him; he always made her feel happier. Giddy, like a silly girl. She loved it. So, what was his deal?  
  
"Those roses are for you, " came his icy reply.  
  
"Roses? You sent me roses? That was so..."  
  
"Not from me."  
  
Marilyn came over, curious. Lauren took the card from the arrangement and read.   
  
_Her precious dreams shatter.   
As she breathes in her last breath.   
How many breaths are left in you?   
I can answer that.   
Not tonight.   
Soon.   
  
_ She tore up the card and dropped the remaining pieces. They scattered on the floor, fluttering onto the worn, brown carpet. She ran from the room, Harry and Marilyn calling after her.  
  
"What did it say?"  
"Lauren? Lauren?"  
  
She entered the teacher's bathroom. The lock clicked shut behind her. She willed herself to calm down.   
  
_It's just a sick joke,_ she told herself. _Some angry student playing a trick._  
  
She splashed some water on her face. Now she'd have to tell Harry and Marilyn that she was okay. She didn't want them to think she was crazy. She stepped out into the lounge, two expectant faces waiting for her.   
  
**To be continued...**


	2. Default Chapter Title

Author: Miri   
Email: miri@fanforum.com   
Title: Damaged   
Disclaimer: I own nothing.   
Rating: PG-13   
Notes: Some Harry/Lauren shipping in here. Also, the first part might be a   
bit confusing, but you'll catch on later.   
Feedback: Please! I'd love to know what you think, good or bad.   
Distribuition: Anyone may have it, so long as you tell me and provide a URL to   
your site.   
  
Part Two  
  
Lauren lied.   
  
She lied through her teeth to Harry and Marilyn when they asked her what the card had said. Something about the tone of the message, it made her want to keep it a secret. She should have told Harry of all people, she told herself, but she couldn't quite bring herself to say anything.   
  
"I hate roses."   
  
That's what she'd said instead. I hate roses. As if that really accounted for her erratic behavior.   
  
"Wow," Harry began. "Remind me to never surprise you with flowers. You know, they have places for people like you."  
  
He said it with that familiar mischievous grin, the kind where his mouth looked a bit lopsided, but it annoyed her. Usually, she'd ignore his sarcastic humor, but the note had chilled her. All she wanted to do was get away from Harry and Marilyn, but she had to act completely normal. Giving explanations wasn't what she wanted at the moment.  
  
With a quick goodbye to Harry, she headed back to her classroom for third period. She had a huge project planned for her students. Hopefully, it would take her mind off of the mornings' incident.   
  
_________________________________________________________________  
  
"I don't suppose we could piece that note back together?" Harry asked Marilyn.  
  
"You're not buying that 'I don't like roses' routine either, I see."  
  
"Not a chance."  
  
It took over an hour, but they got most of the card taped down.   
  
"That's disturbing."  
  
"And the Understatement of the Year award goes to.... Ms. Marilyn Souter! Harvey, tell the young lady what she's won."  
  
"You know, Harry, you could be mature every once in a while. It won't kill you."  
  
Harry winked at Harvey, who had just entered the lounge. He was followed by Marla, who was yelling at his back.  
  
"Don't you two ever quit?" Harry asked?  
  
He earned a dirty look from Harvey. Marla ignored him. He grabbed his bag and headed for the Dungeon.  
  
__________________________________________________________________  
  
The final bell was like a huge weight being lifted off of Lauren's shoulders. She sank into her desk chair and put her head in her hands. With her eyes closed. She listened to the students laughing and shouting in the halls. The exuberance of the kids, however, didn't have its usual effect on her.   
  
"Bad day?"  
  
Harry's voice broke her reverie. She smiled up at him, hoping to forget about everything that was bothering her. He sat on the edge of her desk, his arms folded, and the impish smile in place. The smirk in his eyes made her giggle.   
  
"Wow, that's the first time I've ever heard you giggle. You should try it out some more. With a few lessons, we might have it perfected."  
  
"Smart ass," she remarked.  
  
"I'll take that as a compliment."  
  
They said goodnight to Kevin and Milton, who were leaving as well. Once outside, Harry couldn't contain himself any longer.   
  
"Listen, I'm sure you probably don't want to talk about this, but I read that card this morning. Could you tell me what that was all about?"  
  
The expression on her face became cloudy.  
  
"Well, you're right, I don't want to talk about it. And please don't tell me that you went to all the trouble of piecing that thing together. I tore it up, Harry. Probably because I didn't want you reading it. It's just some sick bastard playing a sick joke. It's none of your business!"  
  
She stormed off in a separate direction, leaving Harry standing there with a dumbfounded look.   
  
"Well, I guess that means I'm sleeping alone tonight," he said to an empty street.  
__________________________________________________________________  
  
Lauren didn't speak to him at all throughout the next day. She curtly walked past him several times, but wouldn't even glance at him. Harry was dejected. He left the school with Kevin, hoping to get a drink at the bar.  
  
"What's wrong with you, man?" Kevin asked. "You've been walking around here with your tail between your legs, and haven't once called Marla a nutcase."  
  
"Lauren's pissed at me."  
  
"What happened? She catch you in bed with some other woman?"   
  
"No, she did not catch me in bed with someone else. And by the way, I find your humor to be extremely unfunny. To make a long story short, she was sent some roses with an extremely creepy card. She wouldn't show me the message; she tore it up, but I put it back together. It was really strange. She's angry because I invaded her privacy."  
  
"So, apologize and promise to never do it again."  
  
"I would, but she won't even look at me. Think she'll get over it if I give her some time to cool off."  
  
"Sure she will. Lauren's a very sensible person. She'll come to realize that you can't help being an idiot. You're naturally immature."  
  
"Thanks, Kevin. You're a real jerk."  
  
Harry rolled his eyes, and continued towards the bar.  
____________________________________________________________________  
  
Lauren sat on the floor of her bedroom; arms hugging her knees to her chest. She rocked back and forth, the letter clutched in her right hand.   
  
Her last hours grow shorter.   
She knows not what will become of her, yet she prays for salvation.  
He can't save her. No one can.  
He will die, the object of her affection, should she not comply with the wishes of me.  
Be in the great halls you walk each day. Be there when I ask.  
Tomorrow eve, one hour after the sun has fallen.  
Dare not to show, and your fate will be worse.  
  
Lauren shed a single tear. She watched it fall off her face and drop onto her sweater.   
  
She'd be there tomorrow. She had to go.  
  



	3. Default Chapter Title

The sun had faded over the horizon forty-five minutes earlier. Lauren stared at the clock on the wall in her classroom; her body trembling nervously, and glistening drops of sweat beading on her face. She wished she'd told Harry about tonight.  
  
Harry.  
  
Sorrow and regret filled her as she reflected upon their distance. She'd barely spoken to him in two days, save for once when she apologized for opening a door in his face. In that moment, she'd almost crumbled; she'd almost broken down and told him everything. She wanted him there with her tonight, to help her. But one look at his face and she knew she couldn't put him in that kind of danger. So, she ignored him still, though she had forgiven him. She had to face this alone.   
  
Something about the letter she'd received yesterday had triggered a memory in her. If she was correct in her assumptions, then tonight might not be her last night after all.  
  
The loud chiming of the clock above the school alerted Lauren to the knowledge that her hour was up.   
  
Time, her time, was up.  
  
She got up from her desk an headed out. As an afterthought, she grabbed the silver letter opener from the cabinet. She wished she'd brought Harry's gun.  
_______________________________________________________  
  
Harry paced back and forth throughout his apartment. He could not take the silent treatment anymore. He'd missed Lauren an immeasurable amount in the past few days.   
  
Making a swift decision to end this nonsense of not speaking, he picked up his phone. However, after a few moments of staring at the unused telephone, he replaced it back in the cradle, having lost his nerve.   
  
What could he have said to her anyway? It wasn't in his custom to have a long planned out speech on exactly why they should stop avoiding one another. No, that was more Lauren's thing. She always knew just the right thing to say to fix a situation. He, on the other hand was no more than a monumental screw up that opened his mouth for all the wrong reasons at all the wrong times, saying the most obnoxious commentary he could think of. He was pretty much hopeless in that department.  
  
No, he told himself, I'm not going to lose her over some stupid misunderstanding.  
  
He lifted the phone again and dialed Lauren's number. After letting it ring twenty times, he slammed down the receiver, missing it by inches.   
  
Harry grabbed his jacket and headed for Lauren's house. He never heard the sound of the phone off the hook.  
_____________________________________________________________  
  
Lauren walked down the stairs and into the South hallway. Her heels made too much noise clacking on the hard linoleum floor, but she was too afraid to bend down a remove them, lest her mystery stalker sneak up behind her. It was difficult to see very much in the dark, but Lauren knew the school quite well. She's felt a little safer knowing she had home advantage. But how well did he know the school?  
  
Reaching the outer hall, Lauren felt for, and found the door handle. She opened the door with a single protest from a rusted hinge. She stepped into the hall... and stopped. Footsteps could be heard coming from the north corridor.   
  
Someone was there.  
_____________________________________________________  
  
Harry slammed his fist against Lauren's door in frustration. The nosy woman next door poked her head out to see who was causing all the noise. He's been banging on her door and calling out her name for more than 10 minutes.   
  
He simply had to see her. He needed to speak to her. He needed to do it now.  
  
Where in the hell was she?  
  
A fleeting though crossed his mind. She could be with another man. No, he wouldn't allow himself to believe that she was with someone else. But she could be in trouble. She could be hurt, and needing his help.   
  
Marilyn would know where she was.   
  
The payphone sat on the corner of Lauren's street; its shining hand piece was a welcome respite. He had something to focus on now.  
  
Marilyn answered after one ring. It seemed like forever before she told him anything.  
  
"Last I saw her, she was in her classroom. I don't think she ever left..."  
  
He didn't hear the rest of her sentence. He was already running towards the high school.  
______________________________________________________  
  
"Lauren."  
  
The voice was void of emotion. Strange, coming from someone who staged an elaborate battle such as this.  
  
"Come closer, Lauren."  
  
She knew it was wrong to listen to him. She could hear that small voice in the back of her mind warning her to stay away. Something about him, though, it drew her near. She couldn't sop herself from obeying him.   
  
She was a small animal, in the mercy of her master.  
  
"That's it. Good girl, Lauren. Come see what I have to show you."  
  
She was utterly helplessly hypnotized. Logic kept telling her to turn away and run. To get the hell out of there and get help. She could not ignore him. He was inside her head. The tantalizing notes in his voice forcing her forward.   
  
As she came within a few feet of him, she noticed a metallic glint coming from his side. Straining her eyes, she identified the object.  
  
It was a large butcher knife.  
  
His spell over her broke. She made a run for it.  
______________________________________________________________  
  
Harry flew up the steps to the entrance of Winslow High. His breathing was erratic; the long run from Lauren's place had made him feel every bit of his thirty years.  
  
He stopped when he got to the heavy double doors. He could hear loud and frantic footsteps. Someone screamed a name.  
  
Lauren. A male voice had screamed for her.   
  
He ran inside and passed the long row of lockers, ending up by the gym. He didn't see the figure until it was too late. The arm came up and something hard slammed into the back of his neck.   
  
Harry went down.  
____________________________________________________________  
  
To be continued....


End file.
